(Radio Iowa)- One of the bills that cleared the legislature in its final week directs the Iowa Department of Education to immediately begin drafting new standards for social studies that emphasize U.S. history, Iowa history and Western Civilization. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says it will ensure Iowa children are taught the blessings of liberty.

“We will teach about our republican form of government and compare the stark differences between us and the crimes against humanity that have occurred under communist regimes since 1917,” Holt said. “We will teach about the horrors of the Holocaust to ensure that such evil is never countenanced in our own country.” Democrats say the list of specific people and events in the plan would take away teachers’ ability to cater lessons to current events and students’ interests.

Representative Molly Buck, a Democrat from Ankeny who’s a teacher, says the plan is overly prescriptive. “I don’t really feel like an approach that talks about rote learning or memorization prepares our children for the realities of participating in modern and diverse and complex engagement in our society,” Buck said.

The bill calls for the new social studies standards to be voted on by the state board of education by the end of 2025. The bill also directs state education officials to conduct a review of all K-through-12 curriculum and education standards and make recommendations for changes to the legislature.

(Radio Iowa) – The superintendent of the Charles City Community School District has been placed on paid administrative leave. An email sent to all staff on Friday by school board president Dr. David Schrodt stated that the district has started an investigation into allegations of behavior that raises questions about Dr. Anne Lundquist’s fitness for duty and ability to serve as an employee of the school district.

The email states that the school district’s attorney will be in charge of the investigation and that the district will receive a temporary superintendent with the help of the Central Rivers Area Education Agency to serve for the district while Lundquist is on leave.

Lundquist announced earlier this year that she would be resigning her position from the district at the end of the school year after serving the district as an interim superintendent since 2022.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Muscatine man was sentenced recently, for attempting to entice a minor. According to public court documents, in December of 2022, 41-year-old Paul Kyle Quigley,  a registered sex offender engaged in a Facebook conversation with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old female. After told of the 15-year-old age of the putative victim, Quigley replied with requests for sex acts. After multiple days of continued conversations of a graphic sexual nature, Quigley formulated a plan to attempt to meet and flee the state with the 15-year-old female with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Working in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), on February 22, 2023, Quigley was arrested in Burlington, just prior to arriving in his semi-truck at the established meeting place.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Quigley will be required to serve 15 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa and Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Greenfield was recently arrested on three warrants, including an extraditable warrant out of the State of Louisiana. 39-year-old Kristin Nicole Ladd was arrested April 16th in Greenfield, following a reported fight in progress in the 200 block of SW 2nd Street. A man residing at that location told police Ladd broke out a window in his camper. She was found inside the camper and, according to the man, when she went to leave, got into an altercation with her daughter before running away from the scene.

She was found hiding behind the residence in the 300 block of SW Jackson Street, and exhibited an odor of an intoxicating beverage coming from her person. Ladd was arrested on an Adair County warrants for Failure to Appear on an OWI/1st offense charge (No Bond), and Driving While Revoked ($1,000 bond). She was also charged with Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree ($1,000 bond).

Ladd was also arrested on Contempt of Court (Failure to Appear) warrants out of the East Baton Rouge Parish of Louisiana, on the following charges: Public bribery; Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle; Misrepresentation during booking; Underage DWI; Reckless Operation of a vehicle, and Violation of a Protective Order. She was being held in the Adair County Jail, pending extradition to Louisiana.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office said also, 52-year-old Rhett Bryan Wickett, of New Virginia, IA, was arrested April 14th, for Public Intoxication. His arrest at around 3:45-a.m. followed an investigation into an accident, where a deputy found a Chevy Corvette in a ditch, in the 3100 block of Henry A. Wallace Avenue. Wickett acknowledged he had consumed alcohol about 4 or 5 hours earlier, but claimed the accident happened when he swerved to miss a deer. He was determined to be intoxicated, and as he was being transported to the Adair County Jail, complained of broken ribs.

Adair EMS arrived at the jail, provided care, and then transported Wickett to the hospital in Greenfield. At the hospital, he declined to be seen by medical staff, and requested to return to the jail. He was transported back to jail for the completion of his booking process, and released a few hours later on a $300 bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests took place, Saturday. Authorities say 30-year-old Brent Munger, of Glenwood, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He posted a $1,000 bond, and was released.

And, 19-year-old Jaxx Weis, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Saturday for: OWI/1st offense; Possession of a Controlled Substance; Unlawful Poss. of a prescription drug; Poss. of a dangerous weapon, and Poss. of drug paraphernalia. Weis posted a $4,300 bond, and was released.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that lets school boards choose to have teachers and other staff volunteer to carry a gun on school grounds. Lawmakers who worked on the bill say at least 20 school districts have been planning to take that step. A 2021 law let Iowa schools authorize staff to carry a weapon, but school districts were unable to get insurance. The new law provides qualified immunity to schools, meaning the school and the employee would be protected from criminal charges and civil lawsuits over the use of reasonable force. Legislators also voted, in a separate bill, to provide grants of up to 25-thousand dollars to pay for staff to undergo the training to obtain the professional permit required.

Republican Sen. Dan Zumbach, of Ryan, says lawmakers should support school districts however they choose to protect students. “This is an amazing tool that we can offer our schools,” Zumbach says. “It’s not just a tool, but it’s a tool with tools. It’s a full toolbox.”

Senator Dan Zumbach (R-Ryan) (official photo)

Senator Cindy Winckler of Davenport is among the Democrats who opposed the policy. “We can’t support a bill that facilitates putting more guns in school,” Winckler said.

The grant program is included in a bill that also lets districts to use dedicated infrastructure funding to install additional security, like video surveillance software that can detect firearms.

HARRISON COUNTY, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety today (Monday), said that at approximately 4:30-p.m. Sunday, on April 21, 2024, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a vehicle rollover south of Modale (Iowa). When deputies arrived on scene, they contacted the driver of the rollover, identified as 22-year-old Sebastin O’Brien of Little Sioux, Iowa. O’Brien became combative with deputies, and after a short struggle, deputies placed O’Brien into custody.

Upon further investigation, it was learned the rolled-over vehicle did not belong to O’Brien. Harrison County deputies went to the residence of the vehicle’s registered owner and located the owner deceased inside the residence. The name of the deceased individual is being withheld pending notifications to family members. As a result of evidence collected, O’Brien was charged with Murder in the 1st Degree and taken to the Harrison County Jail. Additional charges are pending.

The criminal investigation is being conducted by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Iowa State Patrol. The deceased male was transported to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny where a forensic autopsy will be performed this week.

Homicide suspect Sebastin O’Brien

The investigation is ongoing, and no other information will be released at this time. Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak say both drivers were at fault, but no citations were issued, following a collision Saturday evening, during which their were no injuries. Authorities say at around 5:45-p.m., a 2013 Dodge Challenger driven by 46-year-old Michael Shane Sunny Cantrell, of Red Oak, was backing out of a parking area at in the 300 block of Reed Street, when it struck a 2015 Chevy pickup driven by 19-year-old Chase Lee Roeder, of Red Oak. Roeder was also backing out of a parking area, on the east side of Roeder Street at the same time, when the vehicles collided.

Damage from the mishap amounted to $4,500 altogether. Both drivers, police said, were “Starting or backing improperly.”